- Attack on Plant in Tambov region, 300 miles from Moscow lit up sky in crimson
- Another strike damaged buildings at a state-run missile factory in Komolna
Ukraine staged two overnight suspected kamikaze drone attacks on Russia striking a gunpowder plant and a factory making Vladimir Putin’s deadly Iskander-M missiles.
Footage showed an explosion and massive fire at the gunpowder plant in Tambov region.
The night sky was lit up in crimson and orange from the detonation at Kotovsk, 300 miles southeast of Moscow.
Locals heard an explosion before the giant blaze at the facility which supplies ammunition to the Russian army.
Local social media carried comments, with one saying: ‘Oh my dear girl who went to work on the night shift, please come back alive.’
Another posted: ‘It was the 5th workshop that exploded.’
One more warned: ‘Stop sharing such details, we don’t know who’s reading this group.’
Huge explosions also hit Komolna, some 60 miles southeast of Moscow at KBM Engineering Design Bureau, a state-run defence enterprise specialising in missile systems including the Iskander-M which has been massively used against Ukraine in the war.
Russia claimed it had shot down a drone but the roof of a plant workshop was plainly ablaze.
Ambulances and police were at the scene.
Russian media outlet Mash reported that roofing and cladding of two buildings were damaged, and windows broken.
The road leading to the plant was blocked after the explosion.
The plant – owned by state-owned defence conglomerate Rostec, headed by close Putin crony Sergey Chemezov – produces man-portable anti-aircraft missile systems, anti-tank missile systems operational-tactical missile systems and active protection complexes .
The extent of any damage was not immediately clear.
There were no immediate reports of casualties in the two incidents.
Ukraine rarely comments on claims of such strikes in Russia.
But its forces have targeted Russian military, logistics, and infrastructure sites in Russia and in occupied territories.
Last month an explosion hit the Rostec-owned Solikamsk Ural gunpowder and explosives factory .
The Iskander-M was used for a Russian strike on the Ukrainian SBU – security service – headquarters in Dnipro on 29 July 2023.
Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
